Historic Health Care Reform Passes House

At 11:15 p.m. Eastern Time, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the historic passage of a health care bill revamping the health care system and bringing about the reforms promised by President Obama during the November 2008 election.

The vote was 220 to 215 with one Republican, Representative Cao from Louisiana, voting in favor of the bill. The vote capped almost 12 hours of debate during which an amendment was passed to assure that no federal funds would be used to pay for or subsidize any abortions.

The health care overhaul was a centerpiece of the Democratic agenda in the 2008 election and dominated the work of Congress during the first 10 months of 2009. With its passage, all eyes are turned toward the United States Senate, where debate on its slightly more conservative health care package is to begin just after Veterans´ Day. The two bills would then need to be reconciled and returned to both houses for final passage.

Today´s vote signals an enormous victory for President Obama, who addressed House Democrats earlier in the day and is a landmark achievement for our country.